No One Likes A Tease
by AislinnKay
Summary: Cerise is out one night when she meets the strange enigma Axel. AxelxOC


**The _italics_ are a flashback. Just letting ya know!**

The man before me had a smirk showing on his lips, a sign of his apparent success in making me feel awkward and uncomfortable. His red hair stood out against the light of the street, and his green eyes shone brightly in the same light. I flushed a deep scarlet, wishing that he didn't have this kind of effect on me.

He stepped dangerously close, too close and looked down at me. "Good night, Cerise." I felt his hand brush against the bare skin of my arm. I resisted the urge to shiver and step closer; that would only give him what he wanted. He turned away, and opened up a portal, stepping through. I was alone once again on the city street.

I let go of the calm and emotionless façade I put up when being near Axel. Ever since he'd gotten flirtatious, I'd become emotionless out of necessity. He couldn't possibly mean it anyway. He was just toying with my emotions. I sat down on the curb of the street and rested my forehead against the tops of my knees, wrapping my arms around my thighs. I let out a loud breath of air, closing my eyes, which were suddenly feeling very heavy.

_I listened to the echo of my footsteps of my feet against the pavement of the street. The night was dark, and it was washed in a dark light by the streetlights. Dark splotches started to appear on the ground, staining the pavement a darker hue. The rain started to come down faster and heavier, and I suddenly wished I'd brought a jacket. I drew my arms closer around myself, attempting to preserve my heat, but I wasn't going to end my late night walk just yet._

_I pressed on, and within minutes, I was soaked from head to toe and shivering. I was most likely going to have a cold when I woke up. The smart thing to do at the moment would be to turn around and go home, which I planned to do. I spun around on my heel, stalking back in the direction I'd come from, but I stopped at something I saw a few yards away from me._

_A tall figure stood in the middle of the street. They were facing away from me, which I was instantly grateful for. They were clad in a lengthy black cloak, which covered every inch of their body. Black boots were worn on their feet and they had a hood pulled up over their head. The gut instinct I got from the mysterious figure was that whoever was under that cloak was bad news and that I should try to avoid them. I attempted to sneak over to the side of the closest building, deciding that if I were close to a building, I wouldn't be as easy to spot as when I was standing in the middle of the street._

_I kept my eyes on the figure, and when I reached the curb, my foot slipped, emitting a loud noise. I closed my eyes, praying that the shrouded figure hadn't heard. The reality of the situation hit me soon afterwards; the likeliness of the person not hearing me was very slim. I hesitantly opened my eyes and saw through the thick veil of rain that the figure was standing but a few feet away from me._

_"Well, hello there." The speaker was a male, and his voice seemed to be mocking. I made no attempt to form a reply or doing anything for that matter. I just stared, wondering what was under that hood._

_"Aren't you going to say hello back? You're being very rude, you know."_

_I swallowed hard and blinked once. My hair was plastered uncomfortably to my head, and there were raindrops caught on my eyelashes. I wanted more than nothing at that moment to be home, in my warm bed. I decided to cave in to the stranger, deciding that it would be easier than being stubborn. I nodded, replying, "Hello."_

_"Now that's more like it!" Even without seeing his face, I could hear the smile in his voice._

_I stood in silence, unsure of where I stood with this man. Was he debating whether or not to kill me, or was he simply making small talk? I really wasn't sure._

_"What's your name?" he said, breaking the silence._

_I hesitated, unsure of if I should tell him. I was in no immediate danger, I decided. What would he get out of killing me? "Cerise Bouvier."_

_"So, Cerise, what are you doing out in the middle of the night, walking in the rain?"_

_I felt a dimple form between my eyebrows. I could see why he was suspicious. "I wanted to get out of the house. I was feeling cramped."_

_"Ahh, I see. Parents annoying you?"_

_I scowled at the stranger, although I couldn't see his face. "No. No parents."_

_He was silent for a while after that. I wondered why I was telling this person, whose name I didn't even know, about my dead parents. Why wasn't I running for my life at this very second?_

_I turned the questioning back on him. "What are you doing out here?"_

_He replied instantly, "Now, that's none of your business, now is it?" Although he was feigning anger, I could hear the sarcasm dripping from his words._

_I looked away, sighing deeply. "No. I suppose it's not."_

_The uncomfortable silence returned again. He asked me a question, which I assumed was just to fill up the silence. "What do you think of this town, Cerise?"_

_I shrugged. "I hate it."_

_"Then why do you stay here?"_

_I looked directly at the area that I assumed the stranger's eyes were located. "I don't have much of a choice."_

_"Yes, you do. Everyone always has a choice."_

_I snorted. "Not always."_

_I heard him sigh and he looked away, like I'd previously been doing. He stared for a few moments at a billboard lit up by bright lights angled towards it. I glanced at it; it was for some kind of ice cream. It wasn't anything too profound or eye-catching._

_"Sea salt ice cream is the best," he said after a moment's silence._

_I glanced at the advertisement again briefly, then back to the stranger. "I've never had it before."_

_I heard the shock in his voice. "Never had sea salt ice cream? You're crazy."_

_I shrugged, and I found myself smiling at the stranger's surprise. I quickly scolded myself and removed the smile from my face._

_"Well, I'll just have to get some for you sometime," he replied, turning away, starting to walk in the opposite direction._

_I tilted my head, once again confused. "What, am I going to see you again?"_

_He stopped walking, but didn't turn. "I guess so. Tomorrow at noon, how about? Right here."_

_He then opened up an oval-shaped thing that was swirling with the colors black and purple. I assumed it was some kind of portal. He was about to step through it when I yelled, "Who are you?"_

_He turned around again, and I could hear the smirk in his voice once again. "The name's Axel. Got it memorized?"_

_Then he was gone._

**_The Next Day_**

_Why was here? I was obviously crazy. I fiddled with the edge of my shirt as I sat perched on the curb. I tapped my feet, starting to get unbearably uncomfortable. I rubbed vigorously at my eyes, then my temples. I sat in my default position, leaning my forehead down against my knees, and wrapping my arms around my legs. My hair brushed against the ground, but I didn't even care._

_I heard a voice come from in front of me. "I seriously thought you wouldn't show up."_

_I kept my head pressed against my legs. I replied, "I could say the same about you."_

_A laugh was the reply to my words. "Sorry about that. I'm usually late to everything."_

_Lifting my head, I glanced up at Axel. When I did so, it took a massive amount of effort to keep from gasping aloud. He had his hood pulled down now, but he kept his cloak and boots on, despite the heat of the day. He had flaming red hair, spiked in the back, parts of it hanging down on either sides of his face. His eyes were a startlingvivid green, contrasting with his auburn hair. He had strange dark marks underneath his eyes, and he had a mocking smirk plastered on his face. He was, despite his strange appearance, gorgeous._

_He started to shift his weight between his feet, his smirk fading. "What? You're staring."_

_I looked away, feeling my face flush. I mumbled a curt apology, "Sorry."_

_I noticed that he held two popsicles in his gloved hands. They were dripping, already melting in the sweltering heat. I held my hand out, relieving him of one of the popsicles. He perched himself beside me, beginning to eat his ice cream. I proceeded to do the same._

_We sat in silence for a while. I didn't realizethere was even a silenceuntil Axel broke it. "You never did tell me why you were out there last night."_

_I looked at him. "I've already told you. I was just talking a walk."_

_He met my gaze. "Oh, really."_

_"Yes, really," I said, turning back to my dripping ice cream. "Why would I lie?"_

_"What I don't understand is why you were out there in the rain."_

_I shrugged, looking up at the sky. "I like the cold. And I was on my way home when I saw you."_

_He made a noise that sounded like 'humph' and pressed the subject no further. After a few moments, he said, "I'm not going to lie to you, Cerise. I don't get you."_

_I turned to him once again. "How so?"_

_"You don't trust me one bit, and yet here you are, casually eating ice cream with me." He returned my gaze with a hard stare._

_"That's not true. I have to trust you at least a small bit to have shown up."_

_He shrugged, taking a lick of his ice cream. "I guess you're the one who knows you best."_

_I let the silence sit for a little while again, before asking, "How come you won't answer any of my questions?"_

_I saw him smile out of the corner of my eye. "That's also not true. Ask me a question."_

_"What were _you _doing out there last night?"_

_"Oh, I was just talking a walk in the middle of the night, in the rain."_

_I sighed, frustrated. He was being incredibly difficult. "Fine. What's your favorite color?"_

_"Red."_

_I almost laughed. I should have guessed. He looked at me sideways, and I removed the smile from my face, turning my attention back to my ice cream._

_"Why do you always do that?"_

_"What?"_

_"Hide your smiles."_

_I looked at him. I found that I really didn't have any answer. I gnawed on my lip, trying to formulate a response. "I don't know. It's a habit."_

_"That's not a very good habit, ya know."_

_"Yeah, well…" I said, letting my words trail off._

_We let the silence sit between us as we finished the ice cream. By the time it was gone, I realized that I hadn't even noticed what it had tasted like. I held the Popsicle stick in my hand, waiting for Axel to say or do something._

_He stood, stretching his arms high above his head, and I heard his joints cracking as he did so. He looked down at me and I stared back, blinking against the bright light the sun was casting into my eyes. "Well, I'd better get going, Cerise."_

_He started to walk away and I called after him on an impulse, "Hey! Am I going to see you again?"_

_I was immediately shocked at what I'd said. Did I want to see him again? I wasn't even sure. He glanced over his shoulder, his default smirk placed on his features. "I suppose."_

_He opened another portal and disappeared._

I'd met him a few times more after that, and gradually, we'd grown closer. Become friends, even. Then Axel had gotten flirtatious, and it started to get awkward between us; it was awkward for me at least. Axel didn't seem to mind, which only made sense.

I sat on the curb, my butt starting to ache from sitting on the hard surface for too long, but I made no attempt to move from my seat. I turned my face to the side, pressing my cheek to my knees. Now was the time to get my thoughts straight while I had the chance.

The most important question I needed to ask myself was if I wanted Axel. The answer came to me easily, and I wasn't even the least bit surprised. I did. A lot. I closed my eyes. This was bad. He was probably just playing with me, and it was working. I sighed through my nose.

A pleasant thought passed through my mind. It was always possible that he wasn't just playing with my feelings.

I didn't have a lot of options. I could ignore him when he provoked me, like I'd been doing. I could reject him. Or I could take a gamble and say something about my feelings to him.

I took a deep breath, and blew it all out in one quick breath, burying my face in my knees again. This was not fun, at all.

"I forgot something."

I looked up quickly, seeing Axel staring down at me. I blushed and looked away. I felt embarrassed that I'd just been thinking about him. "What'd you forget?"

He reached over me, and picked up a Popsicle stick that was lying on the ground behind me. I glanced up at him again, and stood, brushing off the back of my pants. "You came back for a popsicle stick?"

"No," he replied simply, holding my gaze.

I raised my eyebrow in question, but he didn't offer an explanation. When I was sure he wasn't going to respond, I glanced around awkwardly, unsure of what to do. I opened my mouth to speak. "Why'd you come back then?"

He sighed loudly through his nose, keeping his eyes trained on me. "I give up."

"On wh—" His lips against mine cut my words off. The shock of the moment kept me frozen in place. I moved my hands slightly, and then froze again. His lips were incredibly warm. Warmer than they should've been. My brain abruptly went into motion; I placed my hands on his shoulders and kissed him back. He appeared pleased with my reaction, because he pulled me closer, wrapping his arms around my waist.

I pulled away, licking my lips when I did. "Please tell me you're not just teasing me."

He tilted his head to the side. Then he smirked. "Do I really tease you?"

I bit down on my lip. But then I let myself smile widely at him, not trying to hide it anymore. "More than you'll ever know."


End file.
